Introducing Our 2009 Make a Difference Scholarship Winners
Veronica Rivera and Amanda Coward, our two 2009 outstanding recipients of this year’s LDNY Abbondanza! Make a Difference Scholarships, were among the honorees at our Scholarship Reception on July 27, 2009. Once again, thanks to Dames Alison Awerbuch and Abigail Kirsch, the celebration was held at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on the Hudson. Joining in the celebration were Abbondanza! Fundraiser Cochair Rita Jammet, 2009 Scholarship Cochairs Abigail Kirsch and Suzi O’Rourke, New York Dames, the proud scholarship winners, their parents and guests.
VERONICA RIVERA, a freshman in the BA program at New York City College of Technology, CUNY, was awarded a $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 for each of 4 years) to attend their four-year program.
AMANDA COWARD, a junior at the Culinary Institute of America, received a $20,000 scholarship toward her degree in the four-year program of Bachelor of Professional Studies at the CIA.
These Make a Difference Scholarships, initiated in 2008, are funded by proceeds from the 2007 LDNY gala benefit, Abbondanza!, which honored Dame Lidia Bastianich. These scholarships are designed to truly make a difference in the lives of women who are so passionate in pursuing their education and careers in the food, fine beverage and hospitality industries.
Honoring our 2009 Abbondanza! Make a Difference Scholarship Winners (left to right): Veronica Rivera and Amanda Coward
ALL SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ARE INVITED TO BECOME MENTEESand are asked at the time of the award to fill out an application to identify their expectations for mentoring and their specific areas of interest. The Mentoring Committee—whose members serve for two years—reviews the applications to determine criteria for a match with a LDEI member as mentor.
A Committee discussion follows and one-on-one contacts are made with each mentee. Based on the understanding of her mentoring needs, appropriate mentors are chosen from the NY Chapter membership-at-large. Some of the Committee members also become mentors, others maintain contact with “mentoring pairs” for six months to a year.
As part of this get-acquainted process, a reception at the home of one of the Committee members is suggested, to help more quickly build relationships between the Committee and current group of mentees.
“Mentoring,” as envisioned by LDEI, involves Dames using their knowledge and experience in an area of food, wine or hospitality and sharing it as a means of support to help enhance the career growth of women entering those fields.
It is an informal program in which mentees are given the opportunity to observe, question and explore, while mentors demonstrate and explain as role models, using personal scenarios, anecdotes, case examples and industry wisdom to offer valuable career insight.
THE LDNY MENTORING PROCESS starts with a “contract between mentor/mentee,” made at a face-to-face meeting, as to amount of time spent together, frequency of interactions and specific activities, within the limits of one year. The parameters of the contract are flexible, determined by what works best for each mentor/mentee partnership.
Interactions can be in person, by phone or e-mail, depending on the specific needs and availability of both parties
Meetings can be once a week, or once or twice a month -- in blocks of time from a half to one or several hours, depending on the mentor/mentee preference and time frame required for both to tap into a continuous learning process that becomes a synthesis of experiences, observation and thoughtful analyses.
Both mentors and mentees are urged to provide an informal monthly report to the Mentoring Committee as to what is working and what is not. An evaluation is part of the contract. Evaluations of each mentor/mentee partnership as it winds down are reviewed by the committee to determine the “best practice” in the future.
